This week in American politics, there’s been a fair amount happening (unsurprisingly).
Peaceful protests are still filling streets in the name of Black lives (which continue to be taken, even *during* this recent wave of protests), and the President is still dishing out threats.
Probably the most offensive move to come from number 45 in recent days, however, was his plan to hold a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19th.
Unsure why this might be an insulting move? Allow me to explain further.
The 19th of June, also known as Juneteenth in the States, is the anniversary of the date in 1865 when union soldiers arrived into Texas to tell enslaved people they had been freed – almost two years after President Abraham Lincoln had declared it so.
This date is, understandably, a hugely important one in Black history (I’d encourage you all to read more about the holiday – the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a good place to start). So, when a President like Trump – who has routinely spewed out divisive rhetoric, and has quite literally threatened Black Lives Matter protesters with violence – announces that he wants to hold his first political rally since the COVID-19 crisis kicked off on that date, you can imagine the (warranted) response.
This, friends, is not where the insults end. The choice of Tulsa as the setting of this rally is also significant.
In 1921, Tulsa Oklahoma was the site of a massacre known as the Tulsa Race Riot that resulted in the deaths of as many as 300 people.
At the time, Tulsa was known for being home to a particularly affluent African American community – the Greenwood District. It was so successful that it earned the nickname ‘Black Wall Street’. However, history records state that the area was completely looted and burned on June 1st, 1921 by white rioters who tore through the community after rumours began circulating that a white woman, Sarah Page, was assaulted by Dick Rowland – a young Black man.
The details of what happened between Page and Rowland are murky, but it is said that the rumours escalated in severity as they passed from person to person.
When you consider these incredibly sensitive circumstances, it becomes apparent why Trump’s rally announcement was met with outrage. He eventually did see reason though and announced a week before the rally that he’d be changing the date. On Twitter he wrote:
“We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th — a big deal.
“Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday. Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents. I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honor their requests.”
That rally went down on Saturday, June 20th (local time). According to Politico, it saw dismal crowds meet in a local arena despite huge expected numbers. It’s widely believed this is because of TikTok users and Kpop fans who RSVP’d to the event in the thousands, as a prank.
While there, Trump made sure to comment on the “very bad people outside” the rally (protesters) and referred to Coronavirus as the “China Virus” or “Kung-Flu” (completely racist language), while making sure to let folks know that he has “done a phenomenal job with it [COVID-19]. I saved hundreds of thousands of lives”.
Just, no.
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